Designer : Amy SmilovicInspiration: The designer draws a parallel between architecture and the construction of clothes. Inspiration for colours is drawn from all over with a wink to traffic signs and security uniforms. Collection: Material and colour are at the heart of this collection, with tailored trousers and controlled volumes, a mini puffer can be added to anything. Midi-skirts are worn with enveloping jumpers, created from luxury Peruvian alpaca wool.Comfort and fluidity are emphasized. Touches of fluorescent yellow or orange are added to pep up this luxurious and delicate collection. To note: the touch of sportswear with faux fur jackets, the zipped sweater and drawstring dresses.Interview: We started thinking about what makes something beautiful and it’s really about the product that gets chosen at the beginning, very luxurious silks and wools and this alpaca ‘del Peru’, beautiful and soft, luxurious. So we think about if we have beautiful fabrications and yarns and everything to start with then whatever we create will be absolutely gorgeous and that led us to think about construction and architecture and how the more beautiful the materials, the more beautiful the outcome. Even though we all use the same materials you can create something very special and unique with your own identity. The texture for me… you know growing up I couldn’t afford designer clothing and my mom would take me to those outlet stores and I would run my hands across the clothing on the racks and instead of looking at it I would run my hand across the clothing to see when something felt great and I would stop and then I would pull it out and I thought a lot about just how things should feel. Luxurious, it takes time to make, there are real artisans behind it, and I think we all need to slow down a little bit and appreciate the work and what goes into things so I hope that’s what it did for everyone. When the volume is very average, when the lengths are very average, I think it just comes off as average so it’s much more interesting to play with something really big in one area and smaller in another. I think when you see someone who’s wearing something that has that twist to it, it show that this is a person who… they care, they’re fun, they’re curious about what fashion can be and I love pushing yourself and thinking about things in different ways. Music from the show (for use only in context of the show, under cover of the right to information)

Pleats and plaid, rich colors, longer hemlines, wide-leg trousers and luxurious outerwear are some of the key trends to emerge from New York Fashion Week for fall and winter 2011, buyers and experts say.

Designers showed cozy layered looks in New York this week, wrapping thick scarves over chunky sweaters and rugged jackets in hopes that a trend of casual comfort will appeal to consumers coping in uncertain times.

Keep it short and sweet. Hemlines are headed up, way up, in fashions for spring and summer 2010 that appeared on catwalks this week in New York where top designers gathered for a semi-annual array of shows.